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Business or Psychology? I need help picking my major

I'm brand new here and have never posted. I don't know if anyone will even read this but I figure it's worth a shot. I'm pretty desperate for help.

I have been incredibly indecisive on which major to go for. I've been in community college for 5 years now because I keep changing majors because there are SO many choices and a lot of them interest me. I've basically got it down now to Psychology and Business. I am born and raised in California but I really want to move to Europe (Austria, Germany, or Switzerland) so I also need to consider a major that will get me good paying and visa sponsored jobs overseas. Any advice and suggestions would help me immensely. Honestly I feel quite lost when it comes to my studies. #college-major #university #college #student #college-major #help #jobs #business

business college-major student help university
Thank you comment icon Choosing a major can be a challenging decision. Consider your interests, career goals, and the job market in your desired location. Business offers versatile skills for various industries and can lead to well-paying jobs. Psychology allows you to understand human behaviour but may require further education for certain careers. Research job prospects and visa requirements in Europe to make an informed choice. Seek guidance from academic advisors or professionals in both fields for more personalized advice. gohar
Thank you comment icon When deciding between Business and Psychology as your major, it's important to consider your interests, career goals, and future prospects. Business provides a broad skill set applicable to various industries, offering potential for well-paying jobs and international opportunities. Psychology offers insight into human behavior, but some careers may require advanced degrees. Research job markets and visa requirements in your desired European countries to make an informed decision. Seek guidance from advisors and professionals in both fields to explore your options further and find the best fit for your aspirations. gohar
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Doc’s Answer

Rachel may I suggest a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). This four-year degree program will provide you with a fundamental education in business and management principles. Bachelor of Business Administration programs typically allow students to specialize in one of several areas of concentration, including International Business, Finance, Marketing Director, Real Estate, Project Management, Sales Manager, Healthcare Administrator, Economics or Entrepreneurship Fundamentals. BBA programs can offer practical management training that can prepare students to successfully work within a large or small organization. Your business administration degree program will include courses in a number of different areas. Programs may emphasize the development of business analysis skills, communications, and quantitative reasoning. Through BBA courses, you'll can gain knowledge of business practices and processes, acquire an awareness of global business issues, and develop an understanding of the role of economics in the world marketplace.

BACHELOR'S IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Rachel choosing which school you want to attend to earn your bachelor's degree in business administration is extremely important. There are several things that you should keep in mind while making your choice. For instance:
1) Do you want to go to a local university or are you willing to move to Austria, Germany, or Switzerland to get your BBA?
2) How much money will you be able to spend on your education, and what financial assistance might you qualify for?
3) What are you thinking of specializing in during or after you complete your BBA program?

Answering these questions will give you a sense of the type of educational institution and campus location that's the best fit for you. Business Administration programs are designed to enable you to hit the ground running in a variety of different careers. For example, depending on your area of focus within business administration, you can acquire knowledge and practical skills that prepare you for a career in management, marketing, human resources, administration, finance, and many other fields. You will also possess the skills required to pursue your own business ventures. Studying business administration can provide you with a skill set and knowledge base that serve as an excellent foundation for many exciting careers.

Doc recommends the following next steps:

Organizational Behavior and Management Course – A business can only be as successful as the people working in it, and this course sheds light on the organizational environment through an examination of human behavior, attitude and motivation. The goal of this course is to prepare students to become successful managers by educating them on methods of predicting and controlling their team's behavior.
Business Principles Course – This course provides comprehensive training on skills needed to be successful in several areas, including accounting, finance, human resources management, marketing, operations and planning. Other discussion points include social and corporate responsibility, law and ethics.
Introduction to Marketing Course – In an introductory marketing course, students learn about the basic principles and processes of marketing most companies use to grow their business. Specific topics of discussion include identifying target markets, determining a pricing and promotion strategy, developing and launching a product and evaluating consumer behavior.
Managerial Accounting Course – This course focuses on the cost-volume-profit relationship and using gathered information to make informed decisions. Managerial accounting is often taken as an extension of a financial accounting course because it focuses on transferring learned skills to a management situation. This course forces students to take an analytical approach to budget preparation, cost planning and control.
Business Law Course – In order to own or run a business in the United States, knowledge of the American legal system is a must. Students learn about the legal guidelines for business operation in this business law course. They become familiar with a variety of related topics, including contracts; corporations and partnerships; property, trusts and estates; rights and responsibilities of employees and employers; liability and bankruptcy. The subject of law will also lead to a discussion of ethical considerations for business professionals in Austria, Germany, or Switzerland also.
Thank you comment icon Thank You Simeon. Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much. Doc Frick
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Michelle’s Answer

Hi Rachel! There's actually a decent amount of overlap between business and non-clinical psychology (think consumer behavior, marketing, etc.), so having coursework in both will serve you well. Living abroad is important to you--that's a great goal! Admittedly, I don't know much about the overseas job market for psychology majors, so I'll have to defer to someone else for that. If you decide to major in business, there are paths to working abroad if you keep your eyes open for the right opportunities. My understanding is that it can be very competitive to get a work visa from the countries you listed. You might consider looking at US companies with operations in Europe and express your desire to work internationally in your job application. (Demonstrating on your application that you have advanced language skills/fluency can also give you a boost here.)

Finally, as exciting as living abroad can be (I've done it--it's great!) most of your waking hours will be consumed by work. Therefore, you'll want to balance the opportunities to work abroad that a business education can afford with making sure that you actually want to work in business. It seems like you have many interests, but taking the time to explore your future career thoroughly is important before you make your final decision.
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Simeon’s Answer

I would recommend getting the business degree. I have degrees in religion and business and it's been helpful being able to lean on my business degree. I work for PwC and I have the opportunity to transfer almost anywhere in the world given the door opens and I work with my career team towards that goal. Thus, I would agree with Michelle's comment that you will want to get hired by a large company with international reach and get transfered. This approach is much more likely to succeed than getting a sponsor in a foreign country. Additionally, many companies reward those who transfer to foreign offices with more opportunities if they transfer to a country that the company has a need in. If you have big career aspirations, this path is one of the quickest ways up the ladder. For any of the big 4 accounting firms (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, EY), an accounting degree would be the safest bet, but it's still possible to get in with other business degrees like I did, usually because you've had at least a few accounting courses. Be aware, though, that taking this path will often involve some sacrifices on the work-life balance front. If your passion is to visit the country and tour it, you don't want to be stuck working sixty/seventy hour+ weeks stuck in the upper floors of an office suite grinding away at a computer.
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Alix’s Answer

Hi Rachel,

I was actually in the exact same boat as you! I had a really hard time picking my major (and tried 7, yes 7, different majors). There were bits about each major that I really liked, but then other things that I hated - so I looked for the commonalities among them all and chose the major that fit best. For me, I love human behavior (which is what drew me to psychology), I love being creative (which drew me to a business art degree), I love thinking critically and helping people (which drove me to a teaching degree) and so on. In the end, I chose Marketing, because it combined all of my passions, and the areas that were new to me fascinated me more about the subject (as opposed to when I took Psych 2 and walked out of the class on the first day because I was so lost and confused).

A business degree opens your opportunities for career paths because you have to take a wide range of classes (marketing, finance, computer science etc), so it broadens your skill set, which makes finding internships and subsequent jobs much easier. However, if you have a true passion for psychology and want to go into research or therapy (both of which have a wide-range of paths you could follow), then I say, follow that path :)

I would recommend figuring out what your passions are and seeing how that translates into a career. I'd also highly recommend taking Gallup's StrengthsFinder, if you haven't already. It helps define innate strengths, and that can help you determine why you may be drawn to a specific field of study (and conversely, why you haven't been able to find one that sticks with you).

Also, if you want to move overseas, maybe consider studying abroad, to get a taste of what it would be like in that field and start making connections.

Good Luck!

Alix recommends the following next steps:

Create a list of your passions
Take Gallup's StrengthsFinder
Talk to a career counselor to see what degrees combine your passions & strengths
Look into study abroad opportunities
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Elena’s Answer

My recommendation is that after 5 years, you need a major that you can finish and move forward with getting a full-time job. It may not be the ideal job, but start getting the work experience that you need to get you the skills to move overseas.
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Valerie’s Answer

I would recommend a business degree because it has a wider breadth of possibilities as far as job opportunities are concerned. I was always told, when in doubt, get a business degree because business really applies to all faucets of life. Even Vets and Architects need to have an entrepreneurial mindset to be successful. I also think it translates really well anywhere you go because business is global.
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